March 25, 2020
Rev. William Bills
Governor Whitmer’s recent executive order is set to expire on Monday, April 13. Obviously, that is the day after Easter. We have no way of knowing if the executive order will be extended. Some congregations are planning to celebrate Easter just as soon as they are able to reopen their churches and resume services. I think that would be a good idea for us at University United Methodist Church. We may not be able to observe Easter on April 12, but we can still observe Easter on our first Sunday back together. I also have been told that Bishop Bard might record some services for Holy Week and Easter for all the Michigan Conference churches.
The governor’s order applies to houses of worship and asks that we designate only essential personnel to be on the church premises. In the interest adhering to the order I want to encourage you not to come to the church unless you absolutely have to. We have designated myself, Bruce Wheaton (Building Manager), Kim Depew (Office Manager) and Jay Weessies (Financial Administrator) as our essential personnel. These names are posted on the doors to the church and our website, per the governor’s order. Someone will be in the office every day and the answering machine is being checked regularly. If you need anything, please call and we will get back to you as soon as possible. Offerings are coming in (thank you!) and bills still need to be paid so once a week finance team members will be in to make the deposit and sign checks.
Connie Gamage is still coordinating a team of volunteers for those who may need help with errands, groceries, or prescriptions. If you have a need call the office at 351-7030 or email Connie at conniegamage@hotmail.com . Thank you to Steve Forrest for delivering groceries on Tuesday!
If you have the chance to do so, please thank Connie Gamage, Parker Garman, our choir scholarship students, Kim Depew and Adam Zipple for making it possible for us to upload worship content to the church Facebook page on Sunday. Kim made the graphic and Connie organized much of the music. Parker literally recorded the four REACH Band members in four different locations and merged the recordings into one mix for the service. That was amazing. Adam Zipple is the son of Kim and Pete Zipple. He is also the grandson of Keith and Robbe Pohl. Adam has been a great help with his professional skills as a videographer filming, editing and uploading video content for us. If you didn’t get to watch last week tune in on Facebook at nine and eleven on Sunday. Be sure to share the feed with your friends, too.
Take plenty of precautions to keep yourself safe. If you get bored or have extra time on your hands try some extra prayer, meditation or scripture reading. It won’t hurt you a bit. I promise!
At University United Methodist Church, we affirm that as disciples of Jesus Christ, we are an open and inclusive congregation and welcome all persons into full participation regardless of race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic situation, age, ability, education, background and whether single or partnered.